ICANN Names a New Chief Operating Officer

Akram Atallah takes over one of the top spots at the organization that coordinates the Internet’s system of domain names.

Akram Atallah, an experienced high-technology business leader, corporate executive and engineer, has been named as ICANN’s Chief Operating Officer.

Atallah has more than two decades of experience in engineering, operations, finance and global business. He has most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer of CoreObjects Software in Los Angeles, CA.

“This is a perfect fit, not only because Akram brings to ICANN an amazing understanding of the online and high tech worlds, but because he also brings an intuitive grasp of our unique global role in the Internet ecosystem,” said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The fact that he is fluent in French and Arabic will add to our ability to reach out more effectively to the international community.”

Prior to joining CoreObjects, Atallah worked for 12 years at Conexant Systems, Inc. in Newport Beach, California, most recently as Vice President and General Manager of the firm’s Broadband Access Business Unit in New Jersey where he managed up to 1000 employees across three continents. Atallah joined Conexant while it was Rockwell Semiconductor Systems. Prior to that, he worked for SyQuest Technology Corporation, Conner Peripherals Corporation and Miniscribe Corporation.

“This is a chance for me to serve in a leadership role for an organization that is at the very heart of the most important communication and information system man has ever created,” said Atallah. “The Internet is a global resource, the importance of which is escalating for business and governments all around the world. ICANN is central to assuring that it remains a stable and unifying system.”

Akram Atallah holds an MBA, Masters of Science Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, all obtained from the University of Colorado.